Elisabetta Brusa
Encyclopedia
Elisabetta Olga Laura Brusa (born April 3, 1954) is an Italian composer.
Brusa was born in Milan
, and as a child wrote 32 piano pieces. At the Milan Conservatory
she formally studied composition with Bruno Bettinelli, (who also taught famous Italian conductors like Claudio Abbado
and Riccardo Muti
) and Azio Corghi, graduating in 1980. She then taught Composition at the Conservatorios of Vicenza, Mantova and Brescia before arriving at the Conservatorio of Milan in 1985. She also received instruction from Sir Peter Maxwell Davies
and Hans Keller
.
She appeared on the Young Italian Composers television programme in 1983.
After winning first prize at the Washington International Competition for Composition for String Quartet in 1982, she was awarded the Fromm Fellowship and the Fulbright Fellowship the next year to follow the Composition classes at the Tanglewood Music Center and three Fellowships from the MacDowell Colony
later in the decade. In 1997 she married the conductor Gilberto Serembe.
Currently she is best known for her orchestral works recorded in two volumes on the Naxos Records
label. She is often inspired by works of Literature and Art as well as of Music of all ages but the latter are never quoted or imitated in her works. These include the tone poem Florestan, based on the Florestan side of Robert Schumann
's personality; the Nittemero Symphony, inspired by ancient Greek astronomy; the tone poem Messidor, which alludes strongly to (without actually quoting) Felix Mendelssohn
's incidental music to A Midsummer Night's Dream (the work is dedicated to her husband), a Fanfare, an "Adagio", "Firelights", a "Requiescat" and "Favole", all of which for orchestras of different sizes, among other works.
Brusa describes her musical style as "close to Neo-Tonality and in particular to Neo-Romanticism, but in the original sense of the word, which is nowadays often confusedly assimilated to other ones," and her harmony as "essentially pandiatonic with panchromatic moments."
Her music has been performed by the BBC Philharmonic
, CBC Vancouver Orchestra, St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, Women's Philharmonic of San Francisco, to name just a few.
Brusa was born in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, and as a child wrote 32 piano pieces. At the Milan Conservatory
Milan Conservatory
The Milan Conservatory is a college of music which was established by a royal decree of 1807 in Milan, capital of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. It opened the following year with premises in the cloisters of the Baroque church of Santa Maria della Passione. There were initially 18 boarders,...
she formally studied composition with Bruno Bettinelli, (who also taught famous Italian conductors like Claudio Abbado
Claudio Abbado
Claudio Abbado, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , is an Italian conductor. He has served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Vienna State Opera,...
and Riccardo Muti
Riccardo Muti
Riccardo Muti, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI is an Italian conductor and music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.-Childhood and education:...
) and Azio Corghi, graduating in 1980. She then taught Composition at the Conservatorios of Vicenza, Mantova and Brescia before arriving at the Conservatorio of Milan in 1985. She also received instruction from Sir Peter Maxwell Davies
Peter Maxwell Davies
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, CBE is an English composer and conductor and is currently Master of the Queen's Music.-Biography:...
and Hans Keller
Hans Keller
Hans Keller was an influential Austrian-born British musician and writer who made significant contributions to musicology and music criticism, as well as being an insightful commentator on such disparate fields as psychoanalysis and football...
.
She appeared on the Young Italian Composers television programme in 1983.
After winning first prize at the Washington International Competition for Composition for String Quartet in 1982, she was awarded the Fromm Fellowship and the Fulbright Fellowship the next year to follow the Composition classes at the Tanglewood Music Center and three Fellowships from the MacDowell Colony
MacDowell Colony
The MacDowell Colony is an art colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire, U.S.A., founded in 1907 by Marian MacDowell, pianist and wife of composer Edward MacDowell. She established the institution and its endowment chiefly with donated funds...
later in the decade. In 1997 she married the conductor Gilberto Serembe.
Currently she is best known for her orchestral works recorded in two volumes on the Naxos Records
Naxos Records
Naxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...
label. She is often inspired by works of Literature and Art as well as of Music of all ages but the latter are never quoted or imitated in her works. These include the tone poem Florestan, based on the Florestan side of Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
's personality; the Nittemero Symphony, inspired by ancient Greek astronomy; the tone poem Messidor, which alludes strongly to (without actually quoting) Felix Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
's incidental music to A Midsummer Night's Dream (the work is dedicated to her husband), a Fanfare, an "Adagio", "Firelights", a "Requiescat" and "Favole", all of which for orchestras of different sizes, among other works.
Brusa describes her musical style as "close to Neo-Tonality and in particular to Neo-Romanticism, but in the original sense of the word, which is nowadays often confusedly assimilated to other ones," and her harmony as "essentially pandiatonic with panchromatic moments."
Her music has been performed by the BBC Philharmonic
BBC Philharmonic
The BBC Philharmonic is a British broadcasting symphony orchestra based at Media City UK, Salford, England. It is one of five radio orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation. The orchestra's primary concert venue is the Bridgewater Hall....
, CBC Vancouver Orchestra, St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, Women's Philharmonic of San Francisco, to name just a few.
Notable Recordings
- Orchestral Works, volume 1 (Florestan, Messidor, La Triade, Nittemero Symphony, Fanfare): Naxos 8.555266, 21st Century Classics
- Orchestral Works, volume 2 (Firelights, Adagio, Wedding Song, Requiescat, Suite Grotesque, Favole): Naxos 8.555267, 21st Century Classics